Preview

It's a testament to the forward-looking programming of this festival that their 10th anniversary retrospective selections look as up-to-the-minute as the new works. The video work of such camera-shy rock groups as Radiohead and Mogwai are fully represented, and music fans are also well served by films on the Wu-Tang Clan and Pixies. Notable short films include the faded 1970s stylings of Silence Is Golden, the moody Polish CGI of Moloch! and Korean culinary comedy The Perfect Red Snapper Dish (pictured). More socially aware fare includes Black Gold, a look at the global coffee industry, and the violent ecological cartoon Humans!

Horror film festivals are still often considered the poor cousins of "proper" film events, but they're always well-attended, and this year most of them provide opportunities for early screenings of a pair of the best new films in any genre: The Host and Pan's Labyrinth. The Host is a monster movie mixed with a moving family drama, while Pan's Labyrinth is a cross between a war epic and a fairy tale. Other good reasons for attending are the new Jack Ketchum adaptation, The Lost; a pair of enjoyably rubbish Jaws rip-offs, Grizzly and Cruel Jaws; retro classics including The Devil Rides Out and a 70mm screening of Poltergeist; and new British horror such as Lie Still. With special guest Lamberto Bava (son of Mario) and a slew of gory documentaries, you'll wonder why you ever bothered with mainstream cinema in the first place.

In Roman times you'd have been hard pressed to find a British city as advanced as Bath, but now it's fallen behind a little - as the festival press release claims, films such as Lady Vengeance and Mountain Patrol would remain unseen there were it not for this event. As well as introducing those titles to the denizens of Bath, the modern age intrudes wonderfully with a special digital 3D revamp of Tim Burton and Henry Selick's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Also of note are Kenneth Branagh's relocation of As You Like It to 19th-century Japan and Anthony Minghella's Breaking And Entering. Christopher Frayling gives a talk on Sherlock Holmes' cinematic adventures and documentary subjects include Tintin's politics and the US government's surveillance of John Lennon.

As the first outing for a new festival, this includes examples from over six decades of African film-making. The continent has the world's longest tradition of storytelling, and film is just the latest medium for their delivery. 1987's Yeelen opens proceedings and you couldn't find a better film for an introduction to the peculiar delights of African cinema - family conflict, eye-achingly beautiful scenery and elements of magic are all present and correct. There's an interesting selection of lost films, many of which are screened from the only remaining prints - and playing in the UK for the first time. More recent works include such festival circuit favourites as The Wooden Camera and the UK debut of Zulu Love Letter. With live musical performances, Q&As and exhibitions, this well-assembled offering looks certain to become a regular fixture.